Four Steps to Solving Problems...Despite Being an Outsider

Joe Wynne is a versatile Project Manager experienced in delivering medium-scope projects in large organizations that improve workforce performance and business processes. He has a proven track record of delivering effective, technology-savvy solutions in a variety of industries and a unique combination of strengths in both process management and workforce management.

  Communications Management   CRM   Stakeholder Management  

When you are a consultant, you enter new to the organization, the culture, the team. You are an outsider. People you work with may not immediately trust you. Some may already assume the worst about you or your firm without having any supporting facts. They may feel threatened by your presence and the fear may be justified. This is starting to sound like a TV drama, but there are ways you can cope and even thrive.

One way to build trust and cooperation is how you solve problems. Handled poorly, problem solving can ruin your chances for success. An effective problem-solving technique can extinguish negative “outsider” stereotypes and put you on the path to project success. Follow these four steps:

1. Define the situation
2. Avoid destructive behaviors
3. Research the problem carefully
4. Act humbly to resolve

Define the Situation
First, know precisely what end problem you are solving. For example, something is going wrong involving people or a process and you as an outsider don't have good transparency into the causes. You do see the following symptoms:

• Less cooperation than expected from partners and specialists who are in your project organization but shared with other projects
• Constant delays, with days or weeks passing without completing multiple tasks

Avoid Destructive Responses
This is a crucial step for an …

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